A judge recently ordered Fish and Wildlife Services to halt the planting of genetically engineered crops on the national wildlife land in the Southeast Region. Similar result eluded environmental groups in a related lawsuit over GMO use on refuge lands in the Midwest Region.

Did you know that United States permits the planting of genetically engineered crops in the nation’s protected wildlife refuges? Environmental groups have challenged this practice one region at a time.

While the Doomsday Vault may have been founded on noble ideas, many critics fear that the lofty ideas may get lost in the complex agreements between the Vault and the depositors while permitting greater access to seeds by corporate breeders.

Faced with another government agency’s failure to follow the laws, advocate groups had to resort to the courts yet again, making the judicial system the last stopgap for even the most sensible environmental policy.

Genetically modified crops reinforce genetic homogeneity and promote large scale monocultures, they increase vulnerability of crops to climate change, pests and diseases and thus contribute to the decline in biodiversity. In the age where 75% of our plant genetic diversity has been lost, we must ask whether GMOs are doing more harm than good.